Salary Database Copy

If you are a technical communicator or an employer looking to hire a technical communicator, then you need STC’s Salary Database. Each year STC produces a Salary Database based upon data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, with exhaustive additional research ensuring that the salary data is accurate, reflects regional realities, and is useful to technical communicators.

2019 STC members will have access to a free copy of the 2017-2018 Salary Database and Excel workbook. Please check your membership confirmation, which will be emailed to you once you join or renew, for details on accessing and downloading the publication. Nonmembers may purchase the Salary Database PDF for $125, the Excel workbook for $60, and both for $185. They can be purchased separately.

The 2017-2018 STC Salary Database is sponsored by:

The STC Salary Database is a tool that can be used to conduct more powerful job searches, make a strong case for a raise, or prepare department payroll budgets. The data in the Salary Database are drawn from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).

The 2016-2017 Salary Database was the winner of an APEX 2018 Award of Excellence. APEX Awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content, and the ability to achieve overall communication excellence. APEX Awards of Excellence recognize exceptional entries in each of the individual categories.

What Does the Salary Database Tell Us?

The Salary Database data offers insights on how the economy has and will continue to influence the demand for technical writers. With a stronger economy comes stronger job markets. In 2017, employment rates for technical communicators increased modestly, but it still represents the highest employment level for the occupation since being individually tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Technical writer” as a profession has seen employment growth every year since 2011, with an average annual employment increase of 1.7%.

Globalization and export markets continue to be important to the U.S. economy, showing an increases in employment during 2017 for technical writers, public relations specialists, writers and authors, and interpreters and translators. Other areas of the economy—consumer spending, business spending and investment, and government spending, unemployment, and turnover rate—are also examined in an economic overview which provides some explanation for the effects on the growth or decline of technical writer staffs in various industries.

Some familiar industries continue to top the largest employers of technical writers in 2017. These include Computer Systems Design and Related Services, as well as Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services.

How Can I Use the Salary Database?

Using 2017 data, the 2017-2018 Salary Database is available free to all 2019 STC members and is available for purchase by nonmembers. An Excel workbook with the original data is also available for purchase for all those who wish to be able to format the data in other ways.

Use the STC Salary Database if you are:

An employee looking for solid facts to back up a raise request

A manager seeking salary figures to assist with setting budgets or bidding for projects

A freelancer investigating average hourly fees for a different industry or city

A job-seeker needing insight on what industries and what geographic areas hold the most new jobs

Any technical communicator in need of either annual or hourly wage information

Because the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics, from which the Salary Database was drawn, is one of the most referenced wage guides by human resource professionals, STC members who use this tool will benefit from the same market intelligence that is relied upon when employers evaluate raises and make salary offers to new hires. The STC Salary Database not only provides firm numbers to back up fair requests and fair offers, giving technical communicators the insight they need in a tough job market, it also provides users with a competitive edge. Get the edge you need with the STC Salary Database.